Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-1 Cetacean Fact Sheets

Photo/Image sources:

Whale illustrations by Garth Mix were provided by NOAA Fisheries. Thanks to Jonathan Shannon (NOAA Fisheries) for providing several photographs for these fact sheets.

Beluga: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beluga03.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Beluga_size.svg Blue whale: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Blue_Whale_001_noaa_body_color.jpg; Humpback whale: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/images/cetaceans/humpbackwhale_noaa_large.jpg Orca: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/killerwhale_photos.htm North Atlantic right whale: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/images/cetaceans/narw_flfwc-noaa.jpg Narwhal: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/images/narwhal_pod_hires.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Narwhal_size.svg Pygmy sperm whale: http://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?ParentMenuId=230&id=1428 Minke whale: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/images2/MinkeWhale_NOAA.jpg/view Gray whale: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Gray_whale_size.svg Dall’s porpoise: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dall%27s_porpoise_size.svg Harbor porpoise: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/protected/porptrp/ Sei whale: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Sei_whale_size.svg/500px- Sei_whale_size.svg.png

Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-2 Beluga Whale (buh-LOO-guh)

Photo by Greg Hume

FUN FACTS Belugas live in cold water. They swim under ice. They are called white whales. They are the only whales that can move their necks. They can move their heads up and down and side to side. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-3 Baby belugas are gray. They turn white as they grow. They can be 16 feet long. They eat fish, shrimp, clams and crabs. They do not have a dorsal fin. Belugas have teeth.

Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-4 Blue Whale

FUN FACTS The biggest blue whale is over 100 feet long. Blue whales eat krill. Krill are tiny shrimp. Blue whales are endangered. Baby blue whales can grow 2 inches a day. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-5 Blue whales are the largest animals in the world. They can hold their breath for almost an hour. They have baleen.

Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-6 Humpback Whale

Photo by: NOAA

FUN FACTS Humpback whales have long white flippers. Every humpback whale has a different white pattern under its tail Humpbacks can be 48 feet long. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-7 They sing songs. They can hold their breath for 20 minutes. They have baleen

Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-8 Orca

Photo by: NOAA AFSC

FUN FACTS Orcas are also called killer whales. Orcas can be 30 feet long. Orcas eat fish, seals and other whales. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-9 They are sometimes called “the wolves of the sea.” Orcas can hold their breath for 15 minutes.

Orcas have teeth. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-10 Right Whale

Photo by: NOAA

FUN FACTS Right whales can be 55 feet long. They swim to Florida in the winter to have their babies. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-11 They have white patches on their heads called “callosities.” Every right whale has different shaped callosities. They have no dorsal fin. When they breathe, the spray is V-shaped. They were the “right whale” to hunt.

They have baleen. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-12 Dolphin

Photo by Allison Henry, NOAA/NEFSC

FUN FACTS Dolphins in Florida can be 9 feet long. Dolphins eat fish. Dolphins can hold their breath for 8 minutes. Some dolphins are movie stars. They look like they are smiling.

Dolphins have teeth. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-13 Sperm Whale

Photo by Christin Khan, NOAA/NEFSC

FUN FACTS Sperm whales are the biggest whales with teeth. They can be 52 feet long. They live in deep water. They eat squid. They are endangered. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-14 Sperm whales can hold their breath for 2 hours. They have teeth.

Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-15 Narwhal (NAR-wull)

Photo by NOAA/University of Washington

FUN FACTS Narwhals can be 15 feet long. They live in very cold water near the North Pole. They have a tooth that grows out the front of their jaw. It is like a spear. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-16 Narwhals have thick blubber. Blubber helps keep them warm. They have no dorsal fin. They eat fish, squid and shrimp. They can hold their breath for 20 minutes.

Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-17 Minke Whale (MIN-key)

Photo by NOAA

FUN FACTS Minke whales can be 33 feet long. They have baleen. They eat small fish and plankton. They are fast swimmers. They can swim up to 20 miles an hour. They can hold their breath for 15 minutes.

They are the smallest baleen whales. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-18 Fin whale

Photo credit: NOAA/NEFSC

FUN FACTS Fin whales are sometimes called finbacks. They can be 78 feet long. Their tongue is half black and half white. They have baleen. Fin whales eat up to 2 tons of food a day. They can hold their breath for 30 minutes.

Fin whales are endangered. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-19 Pilot whale

FUN FACTS Pilot whales can be 24 feet long. They have teeth. They have a very rounded head. They eat squid. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-20 They are usually in groups. There can be as many as 100 whales in a group. They can only hold their breath for 15 minutes.

Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-21 Gray whale

Photo by Merrill Gosho, NOAA

FUN FACTS Gray whales can be 50 feet long. This big whale lives in shallow water. It can sometimes be seen from California beaches. They have baleen. They eat small shrimp that live in the mud. People used to call them “devil fish.” Animals that look like little orange crabs live on gray whales’ skin. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-22 Porpoise

Photo by Ari Friedlaender

Fun facts There are different types of porpoises. Porpoises have teeth. They can be 5 to 8 feet long. They eat fish and squid. They have rounded heads with a very short beak. Porpoises are sometimes called “puffing pigs.” Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-23 Bowhead whale

(BOH-hed)

Photo by NOAA

Fun Facts The bowhead whale can be 40 feet long. This whale has a white chin. Bowheads have baleen. They have no dorsal fin. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-24 They use their big head to break through thick ice. They live in water near the North Pole.

Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-25 Sei whale

(SAY or SIGH)

Photo by NOAA

Fun Facts Sei whales can be 60 feet long. Their scientific name means “northern winged whale.” Sei whales are seen in deep water far from land. Whale & Dolphin fact sheets Page CFS-26 These whales are often bitten by cookie cutter sharks. That leaves circle-shaped scars on their skin. They have baleen.